Beirut 1860: The Massacre That Redrew the Mountain

Before the civil wars of the 20th century, there was 1860. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the brutal sectarian violence that erupted on Mount Lebanon between Druze and Maronite Christians, a conflict that killed over 10,000 people and triggered a French military intervention. They trace the roots of the massacre to the breakdown of the old feudal order under Egyptian occupation, the rise of peasant revolts, and the Ottoman Tanzimat reforms that upended traditional hierarchies. Lucas explains how the fighting began in the mixed villages of the Matn district, spread to Zahle and Deir al-Qamar, and culminated in the sack of Damascus. The episode also covers the international response: the French expeditionary force under General Beaufort d'Hautpoul, the establishment of the autonomous Mutasarrifiyya of Mount Lebanon, and the lasting legacy of this forgotten war—including how it shaped the Maronite sense of vulnerability and the Druze memory of betrayal. Key figures include: Emir Bashir Shihab II, the feudal lords of the Shihab and Jumblatt families, the Ottoman commissioner Fuad Pasha, and the Maronite patriarch. This is a story of a society unraveling—and the fragile peace that was imposed from outside.

#1860MountLebanon #DruzeMaroniteConflict #OttomanEmpire #FrenchIntervention #Mutasarrifiyya #DeiralQamar #Zahle #Matn #Damascus #FuadPasha #BeaufortdHautpoul #EmirBashirShihabII #Tanzimat #PeasantRevolt #SectarianViolence #LebanonHistory #MiddleEastHistory #FexingoHistory

Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo